H.S. ROUNDUP: Plymouth North field hockey falls

The Blue Eagles ended a long playoff drought, but their stay was short as they lost to North Attleborough in the first round on Thursday.

Staff reports

PLYMOUTH – Abby Calistra’s first-half goal stood up the rest of the way as North Attleborough earned a 1-0 win over Plymouth North on Thursday night in the Division 1 South field hockey tournament.

No. 19 North Attleborough (9-6-4) advances to face No. 3 Walpole (13-2-2) in the next round.

No. 14 Plymouth North (10-7-2) was making its first playoff appearance since 1986.

“We came out a little tentative in the first half, I think,” Plymouth North coach Kristen DiGravio said. “We were trying to be a little too perfect with the ball when what we needed to do was send it down the field and go after it.

“The second half was played more to our strengths. We played much better and created some good chances to score.”

After an opening 10 minutes that saw a lot of play in the midfield, North Attleborough put together a flurry to score what turned out to be the only goal of the game. The Red Rocketeers forced three corner hits in a row; on the third try Calistra snuck a shot into the net to give her team a 1-0 lead.

Blue Eagles goaltender Ariana Bremis had made a couple of nice pad saves before the score.

Plymouth North’s best chance to tie the game came with 11:30 left when Jeff Yang broke free with a long run down the sideline and dove to put a pass to the other side of the net. The ball bounced dangerously across the goal crease and then out of bounds.

Despite the loss, DiGravio said she was “very proud” of the way her team handled the pressure of the tournament.

“This was a loss on the scoreboard, but it’s a win for us on so many other levels,” she said. “They earned their way into the tournament and they proved to everyone that they belonged here.”

Madison Ahern had a goal and an assist for the Cougars, and Jordan Cokinos, Ava Bevilacqua, Kelsey Kenney and Caitlin Delano also found the net. Kelsey Stewart had two assists, and Bevilacqua added one.

Barnstable 1, Marshfield 0: The 21st-seeded Rams (10-9-1) lost to No. 12 Barnstable (9-3-5) in the first round of the Div. 1 South playoffs. Barnstable will play at No. 5 Scituate (13-3-1) on Saturday at 3 p.m.